Liam Eichenberg wants another chance to prove he’s starting guard material for Dolphins

Liam Eichenberg must have had that “here we go again” feeling this offseason.

Last offseason Connor Williams was holding out from the team’s OTA work and minicamp sessions while lobbying for a new contract from the Miami Dolphins, and the team was without its starting center for the entire offseason program.

As a result, Eichenberg had to learn how to snap the football, and played center for the first time in his football career.

Those practice reps benefited the 26-year-old significantly considering Williams battled injuries last season before suffering an ACL tear in December, and Eichenberg ended up replacing him as Miami’s starting center for eight games.

Fast forward to this offseason where Aaron Brewer, the free agent Miami signed to replace Williams, sat out most of Miami’s on-field work rehabbing an undisclosed injury before participating in the final two days of Miami’s minicamp.

And who was there to take his place, handling the majority of the snapping duties?

“It’s fine,” Eichenberg said, referring to his second offseason stint at center. “I know the offense. I know how to run the offense. I know how to point everything [out].

“[I’m] kind of going to be out there eventually, hopefully at guard.”

And there’s the truth of the matter. Even though Eichenberg is willing to do whatever his team needs, his desire is to play guard - specifically right guard - the spot he admitted to feeling the most comfortable at last season.

With training camp set to start in six weeks, Eicheberg’s hopeful that he’ll be given a legitimate shot to serve as Robert Hunt’s replacement, becoming the Dolphins’ new starting right guard since Hunt left as a free agent, agreeing to a five-year, $100 million deal with the Carolina Panthers.

To earn that role the former Notre Dame standout, whom the Dolphins selected in the second-round of the 2021 draft after trading a 2022 third-round pick to the New York Giants to move up eight spots to acquire him, will need a solid camp.

He’ll have to outperform Isaiah Wynn, Lester Cotton, Jack Driscoll, Robert Jones and Chasen Hines to secure one of the two vacant starting spots.

Wynn beat Eichenberg out last year for the starting left guard role, and when Wynn’s healthy enough to practice without limitations, he’ll likely be viewed as the front runner for the left guard spot.

Cotton and Jones each served as spot starters at guard the past two seasons, filling in for injured players. But Cotton, who has started nine games in his four seasons, must improve his conditioning and Jones, who has started 13 games in his three seasons, must tighten up his pass protection to be viewed as legit contenders.

Miami signed Driscoll to a one-year, $1.8 million deal as a free agent this offseason because of his experience starting 17 games on the right side of the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line.

If anyone’s going to push Eichenberg it’s likely this fourth-year veteran. But Driscoll will need to learn Miami’s technique, and offense in order to lock down a starting role.

“A really good athlete. A guy who can really move his feet. He has good initial quickness,” offensive line coach Butch Barry said when asked why Driscoll was Miami’s only veteran free agent addition on the offensive line. “He’s very dedicated to his approach in how he wants to do things. He’s a guy that has shown a lot of versatility throughout his career.”

And so has Eichenberg, who has completed the offensive line quintet, starting a game at every spot on the line for the Dolphins.

He began his career at right tackle, but moved to left tackle when Austin Jackson was struggling during Eichenberg’s rookie season.

He was moved inside to left guard for the 2022 season when Miami added Terron Armstead, and became a spot starter at center and both guard spots last year.

Even though Eichenberg struggled at times last season, mainly because of injuries or inexperience playing center, it was those experiences that led to his most substantial growth, according to his coaches.

“I’d recommend that every player plays some center. I think it kind of opens everything up for you, teaches you how to kind of understand your range on the inside. It’s just a different game,” said Eichenberg, who will earn $3.36 million in the final year of his rookie deal. “It kind of gets you more comfortable playing inside.”

Even though Eichenberg has struggled at times during his previous three seasons, coach Mike McDaniel insists that player development, an improved comfort in the scheme and with the playcalling, and Barry being more familiar with his personnel will help the offensive line take another step forward.

And it seems as if Eichenberg’s versatility makes him the safety pin that could hold it all together.

“That ability is really important,” Barry said, referring to Eichenberg’s position flexibility. “If you never got some [game] reps at something and were forced to start, now we’re talking about something different. When you are talking about having to do something multiple times at multiple spots, now you can maximize [your career].”